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The Emotional Drum Major: How A Positive Attitude Increases Sales

Posted on 15. Apr, 2010 by Heather Blume in Marketing

I love a parade.

You see, back in my high school days, I spent sometime as that person in the front of the band, the one with the tall hat and large baton. I was the drum major.

Consider the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. Think of all the bands that march in that parade every year. Now, the route is set, and they’re pretty much going to follow the band, float or whatever other group is in front of them on the street, so it’s not like anyone is going to get lost. If you get lost while marching in a parade, that’s pretty bad.

So why then, you may ask, do they need a drum major? As a former Drum Major, I’ll tell you from experience that after you give them the tempo, the band is NOT watching you as a drum major. They’re too busy trying to remember which valve to push and which foot to keep in step with to care about all the little weird maneuvers you are doing in front of them. That show is for the audience.

So why even have a drum major? Because they set the tempo. They set the style. Think back to that parade – some bands were what you would expect of a marching band. They all started on the left foot and the music was pretty much in tune. But there were others – bands that high stepped and performed in a way that made their instruments seem to gleam even brighter under the lights. And those bands had AMAZING drum majors.

They are the influential fulcrum.

In the world of apartment rentals, it’s your turn to be the drum major. Your Emotional state can be a grand ally in helping you control a given situation. When I speak, or write, and when I used to lease, I always brought my emotional A-game – an energy I know from experience is contagious, uplifting, and inspiring. Why does it work like that? How come my mood is so infectious to the people around me? Because as humans, we’re wired for it.

Did you know that emotion stimulates the human mind 3000 times faster than rational thought does? That means that a sales suggestion that pulls at the emotional strings, ie., “Your dog will love playing at the park down the road,” or, “The fireplace makes this place really cozy on colder nights,” connect with your prospect’s mind more quickly and probably more deeply than things that are logical. “You have a bedroom and the second room can be an office.”

Emotions are just like germs – they’re very easy to spread. In fact, a study done at the University of Chicago found that it takes mere MILISECONDS to spread an emotion from one person to the next, and that it often happens without any conscious realization as to what happened.

Humans naturally sync and mimic other people’s facial expressions, posture, body language and speech patterns during conversations. It stems from a psychological need for acceptance and to fit in with a group. The emotional exchange is even connected to charged words that we use, like hate, worthless, love, anger, sad, excitement, and crazy.

This makes your voice, and your ability to remain enthusiastic one of your most powerful selling tools. As Henry Chester said, “Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money, power AND influence.”

Your voice and positive attitude is your secret weapon in sales. Don’t underestimate it, and use it to infect as many people as you can this week with positive energy. Not only will your leases go up, but I bet you’ll have a better week in general.

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Tags: communication, Marketing